And they didn’t set the fire alarm off once!

Okay, so due to scheduling conflicts, our first video has been postponed. Instead, a story in pictures!

Once there was a boy named Greg and a girl named Lauren

And they wanted life to be fun and much less boring

Here is Greg when he’s being domestic

Greg, being domestic

Here is Lauren, all well rested

Lauren, well rested

Pork tenderloin was number one on the menu

First they seared it, and then they

First they seared it

Rolled it in chopped herbs

Rolled it in chopped herbs

Garlic, rosemary, sage; disturb’d

Their friends from their afternoon naps

Gave them beers without twist off caps

Put the concoction in the oven

Put the concoction in the oven

Roast for an hour, then dove in

Mmm, said their friends, we could get used to this

An unsuspecting Biscuit and Linsey

Home cooking, that’s pure bliss!

Toast to a job well done!

This adventure was a success, can’t wait for the next one.

The Recipe!

Pork Tenderloin “Roasted the Tuscan Way”

(as viewed on “Joanne Weir’s Cooking Class” on PBS, January 200?)

The original recipe is not available online, so this is based on the notes that I took while watching the show. My own explanatory notes and changes are in italics.

~la Professora

fresh sage, a few leaves

fresh rosemary, about 2 T

garlic, a few cloves

fennel pollen, 1T

1 t salt

½ t pepper

(I add some fresh lemon zest)

1 T olive oil, plus additional for brushing the bread

2 pork tenderloins, trimmed of fat

1 baguette (she used the thin type – possibly a “ficelle” or “batard” – the type that yields circular, not oval, slices.  But sometimes I only have the fatter, oval “supermarket-type” baguette and that works fine.  If you use the narrower bread, you will see a bit of the pork showing through the top and/or you will have to pull it very tightly when tying it.  The supermarket baguette encloses the pork more completely.)

Chop together the sage, rosemary, and garlic.  Add the fennel pollen, salt, pepper, and my suggested lemon zest and mix all together with a fork.

Heat the oil in a large pan.  Sear the pork loins on all sides until golden, about 8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper while searing.  Cut off the ends of the baguette and then cut it in ½ into 2 even pieces (about 12” long).  Slice along the length of each piece from the top (not side) almost to the bottom.  Split open and scoop out most of the bread inside (use a spoon or melon baller if necessary).  Brush the inside of the bread with olive oil.

Put the herb mixture on a cutting board and roll the seared pork in the mixture to coat.  Put one pork tenderloin into each one of the two bread loaves.  Close the bread and tie with oven-safe string at 1 ½”- 2” intervals.  If pork does not go all the way to the end, trim the ends of the baguette to make it flush with the pork.  (I actually do this trimming after roasting instead, and that works fine.  I also spray the loaves with olive-oil spray or brush/drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil.) Roast at 375 degrees for about 60 minutes (but check sooner, mine is often done more quickly) until the center of the pork is 155-160 degrees.   Let rest a bit, remove string, and slice with serrated knife in 1-1 ½” pieces.  Can be served warm or room temperature/picnic.  Garnish platter with rosemary.  Was served on the show with a room-temperature smoked corn and orzo salad.

Jeffers brought over a Chateau St. Michelle Gewurtztraminer, and the lightness and sweetness complemented the meat well, while the acidity proved a fair match to the herbs. For those living outside Pennsylvania, I strongly recommend 2007 Valkenberg Gewurtztraminer; one of the best values available, light, sweet, with clear notes of peach and lychee, is my summer poolside-fish-pork-poultry wine of choice.